Out of the Ashes
by Nargle006
Summary: What would happen if Harry got put in the Hunger games against Katniss? If George could hear Fred yelling in his ear for him to duck? This is what would happen...
1. The Reaping

Chapter 1

Katniss Everdeen

They're back. The Hunger Games. I can't believe it. I thought they had gone. But the Capitol has come back to power and want them to carry on. They have changed the rules slightly. Because it was only district 12 and District 13 that started the rebellions, they are going to reap two districts in the Capitol and then a few weeks later have a reaping in the two districts chosen. Six boys and six girls. There is an even higher risk than usual. That's not all though. To humiliate us further, they want a speech from each of the two districts chosen. District twelve wants it to be me. Oh and one more thing: There are to be no volunteers.

We filed in to the stadium in silence. The Capitol folk came in too, whispering about us behind their hands and gossiping. I stared straight ahead. The other nominees nervously twisted their hands and straightened their ties. I glanced along at the row, counting. Including me there was fourteen of us. Fourteen? That couldn't be right. My eyes fell upon a brown haired girl. She was reading through notes furiously, as if trying to memorise three different things at once. I recognised the nominees on either side of her because they were from districts nine and ten. The lights went down suddenly and I turned my attention back to the stage, feeling sick to the stomach. Effie Trinket walked on to the stage.

"Welcome, welcome, settle down. It's such an honour to be here…" she went on about the honour for a while and this time she wasn't lying. It must be an honour to do a reaping in the Capitol. When she has finished, she crossed over to the ball containing the fourteen districts.

"Happy hunger games! And may the odds be ever in your favour!"

I held my breath.

"District 12!" I gave a groan inwardly. I stood up and made my way up to the stage, head held high. I only hope that the cameras didn't pick up my shaking knees. Once I was on there, Effie looked at me in surprise.

"Katniss Everdeen! What a pleasant surprise!" I nodded at her and gave her a tight smile, before turning to the crowd.

"People of Panem, I am Katniss Everdeen from District 12…" I carried on with my speech, barley hearing myself say it. I had learnt it so much that it just rolled of my tongue without a second thought. When I finished Effie gave me a smile and motioned for me to step back. I stood at the back of the stage whilst she crossed over to the ball once more. I barely had time to wonder who the other district would be, before:

"District 9…and three quarters?" Effie's face was a picture. Luckily, the girl I had seen earlier came bounding up onto the stage.

"Hello, we are District 9 and 3/4. We are located between districts 9 and 10 and we specialise in teaching magic." My jaw dropped. So did everyone else's. Magic? Magic didn't exist. I was sure of it. As if to prove her point, she pulled out a slim wooden stick from somewhere within her billowing robes.

"Argumenti!" she cried waving it about. A stream of water flew from the end of it.

"Wingardium Leviosa!" The microphone hovered in the air, before flying around the auditorium and settling back into place on its stand.

"And last, but not least…Expecto Patronum!" An otter glided from the tip of her wand, before bouncing around her and bringing warmth and light with it. I just stood and stared at it. Eventually Effie, who had managed to pull herself back together, strode forwards.

"Thank you miss..?"

"Granger."

"Miss Granger. Well we'll see all in two weeks' time for the reaping's in District 12. Good Bye!" She gave what she evidently thought was a winning smile. It really wasn't. The cameras faded out and the lights came back on. "I need to go and sit down!" declared Effie. She tapped her way off the stage, leaving me and the Granger girl alone.

"What's your name?" I asked after an awkward silence.

"Hermione Granger. I know who you are of course. You're Katniss Everdeen. I've read all about you. Even to us witches and wizards, you're famous." She said this all very fast, without taking a breath.

"I am?"

"Of course you are! You and Peeta made history!" It takes a minute to digest this. We made history? Of course, we were the first pair of people to win the Hunger Games. I just don't want to go back into the arena. But then again, the odds have never been in my favour exactly.


	2. Home again

"So, where will your reaping be then?" I asked, thinking that she'd say the district square or something like that.

"Oh, Hogwarts, I suppose."

"Hogwarts?"

"Yes. Our school. That's where we learn it all you know."

"Okay then." I said feeling a bit bewildered. I said goodbye to Hermione and made my way outside to the taxi waiting for me.

All the way home I sat in silence with thoughts whirling round in my head. The games. Hermione. Magic. The games. Hermione. Magic. The games… It went round in my head like a never ending cycle. By the time we got home I was shaking. Peeta was there, waiting for me. He opened his arms and I didn't hesitate to go into them. I let the tears start to run down my face. He steered me inside, past the primrose bush outside. We planted it in memory of my little sister, Prim, but for me it was also a memorial for Rue. Rue is the reason I survived the first Hunger Games. She was killed by Marvel. I killed him. That's the way it works. The only rule is to kill or be killed…I just got lucky. I loved her like a sister. Anyway, as we went inside, I couldn't stop the tears. He sat me down with a cup of hot chocolate.

"What if we get picked?" I sobbed.

"Katniss, we have been in the games twice. Why can't we survive it once more?" Peeta reasoned. I sniffed and took a sip of the drink. It tasted good. "Why? Why did they do this to us?"

"They just want entertainment Katniss. That's all they want."

"But we beat them. How did they rise back to power?"

"I don't know. I don't know…" We sat in silence for a couple of minutes, before Prim's old cat Buttercup came in, yowling for milk and food. I got up and gave him it, wanting to shut him up. He sat quietly for a couple of minutes lapping it out of a saucer. Then he got up and scratched the back to get out.

"We need a cat flap." Peeta sighed. I just sat and stared out of the window. We only had each other. My mother was in District 13 working as a nurse and all of Peeta's family were killed in the bombing of District 12. Actually, it is amazing how quickly the town rebuilt itself afterwards.

"Who was the girl from 9 and ¾?" Peeta asked suddenly.

"Um…I think her name was Hermione…Hermione Granger?" I said uncertainly.

"I recognise that name…" Peeta muttered to himself "…and 9 and ¾…" He stared out of the window for a moment, with a slight frown on his face. "Harry Potter!" he exclaimed suddenly, jumping up and causing his chair to clatter to the floor.

"_Who?_" I asked incredulously.

"Harry Potter. It was a series of books. My mum used to read them to me before I went to bed when I was little. Hermione was one of the main characters. And the train platform for the Hogwarts express was platform 9 and ¾!" He stared at me excitedly. I nodded and when I didn't respond, we just sat watching Buttercup out of the window. Eventually we called it a day and went to bed.

I didn't get a wink of sleep that night. I tossed and turned, trying to drift off, but the faces of every child eligible to picked out ran through my head. I tried to shut them out but they just kept on whizzing round.

In the morning I got up and went to the window. People were gathering in the square, swapping rumours and looking scared. I noticed a young girl sitting on the edge of the stage. I couldn't remember her name, but I knew the face. Her parents often came into the bakery when I was helping Peeta. The Firewicks. I suddenly remembered the surname. She looked up suddenly. Her eyes were fierce, fiery. A boy of her age had slipped into the square. I knew him. His name was Pip Woodfield. He often came into the bakery to buy a cookie or something. The girl jumped off the stage and ran over to him. They started talking to each other, looking scared. I turned away to get ready. Peeta was standing in the doorway watching me.

"It's so unfair for them. The young ones." I said. He came over to me. "Why did they bring them back?"

"Entertainment. That's all they want." He looked at me sadly. I gave a wan smile back and went to get changed.


	3. Who will be Tribute?

**(Authors note: I keep forgetting to add the disclaimer and stuff, so just to say I own nothing, it all belongs to Suzanne Collins and J.K Rowling.)**

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**Katniss POV**

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I went into the square and spotted the girl again. She didn't see me; she was busy climbing the tree next to the stage. I carried on and was sought out by Rory Hawthorne. He reminded me of his brother who was, at one point, my best friend. Gale. I missed him sometimes. Every time I saw Rory, it brought back a memory of being in the woods.

"And may the odds…"

"…be ever in your favour!" The sweet taste of a berry bursting on my tongue was almost too much to bear. I smiled and his worried frown lifted at the corners slightly.

"Katniss, I'm worried. What'll happen if I get chosen?" he said "Mum's so ill at the moment and the others aren't old enough to hunt for food yet!"

"Rory, they'll be fine." I reassured him "If you get chosen, I will look after them, I promise." He nodded and relaxed slightly. Then he stiffened again.

"What if we both get chosen?"

"Then Peeta will look after them. He can bake and I have taught him how to hunt, so he can get a little bit of meat for them. Okay?"

"Okay. I'm coming to get some bread in a minute. I just need to check my snares. Bye…" He wandered off, preoccupied with keeping his family alive. I carried on. Half of my family were dead. Dad was killed in a mine explosion and Prim…well Prim was killed in a bombing in the Capitol. Mum couldn't face coming back to a place where Dad and Prim could never return, so she stayed on as a nurse in District 13. I came back to 12 with Peeta. The only things I have left of Prim and Dad are a bow and a quiver of arrows and Buttercup. I keep the bow and arrows in the usual tree stump. Buttercup still hisses at me occasionally, but we have come close to friends now. I'm so glad I didn't manage to drown him all those years ago. He keeps me company when Peeta's working late in the bakery. Speaking of which, I opened it up and soon a steady stream of customers are coming in, buying Peeta's iced buns and loaves of bread. The bell on the door rang and I looked up to see Pip come in with the Firewick girl. I smiled at them both.

"Two cookies please." Asked Pip. As I was slipping them into a bag, I asked the girl what her name was.

"Rhexia. Rhexia Firewick." Her voice was low, and fire raged in every syllable. I handed Pip the cookies and they left quickly. How I was going to get through the next two weeks, I did not know. I guessed I would just have to watch and wait.

The day of the reaping dawned bright and clear. I swung myself out of bed and slipped my feet into my hunting boots, reminding myself irresistibly of that time two years ago when I was out to meet Gale. The time before I was Mockingjay, before Peeta. Before Prim's name was picked. I crept out of the house to the meadow.

The wire fence was long gone.

"Katniss?" I turned to see Rory standing with a dead rabbit in his hand. His face broke into a grin. "I was worried that one of the Peacekeepers might be around. You know, to stop someone from escaping." I nodded and grinned back. Once I had retrieved my bow and arrow from the hollow tree stump, we slipped silently to the place where he usually set snares to catch unwary animals. The second we entered, I could sense something was wrong. Rory stood still, looking around with a brow furrowed in concentration. He suddenly took a step back and started to drag me back to Victors Village.

"Peacekeepers!" he hissed. I didn't need telling twice. We ran silently through the trees, to where the old hiding place was. Rory leapt up into it and I followed. A second later, two burly men in white thundered past. They skidded to a halt a couple of metres from our hiding place.

"I know I saw someone." One of them insisted.

"It musta been the light." The other said dismissively "We'd have seen 'em running into the district."

"I suppose…" the other man didn't look convinced. They wandered off, back into the woods. Me and Rory looked at each other and let out a sigh of relief. We slid off the rock shelf and looked around furtively to see if there were any more lurking around. We couldn't see any, so we took our chances and ran. I skidded into the doorway of my house in the Village, with Rory right behind me. Peeta was painting in the kitchen. He didn't seem surprised to see us panting with a dead rabbit dangling from Rory's hand. I still had my bow and arrow. We collapsed into seats as he put the kettle on.

"What happened?" he asked arching an eyebrow.

"The Peacekeepers nearly caught us. They're patrolling the woods to make sure no-one escapes!" I was getting my breath back now, starting to feel more angry than scared. The clock on the side read 11:04. We had two hours and fifty-six minutes to ponder upon our fate. Peeta relaxed in the company of Rory, which I always thought odd. He had never been able to relax around Gale. Then again, they were always fighting for my attention. We sat around the kitchen table, laughing and having a good time. I almost forgot all my worries about being picked as a tribute. Almost. All too soon, it was half past one and Rory left to get ready for the reaping. Peeta and I went upstairs to change. I slipped into my red dress that had been altered slightly from my first interview. It had been made slightly bigger, for one thing, and longer to cover more of my legs. Peeta was wearing his suit and trying to do up his tie. He was looking slightly annoyed with it. I stood in front of him and gently eased out the knots he had created. I tied it for him, cool fingers weaving it through the loop. He smiled at me gratefully once I had done it.

"Well, we need to look our best if we're going to the capitol." He reminded me with a rueful smile and a shrug. I smiled back, just as the clock tower in the square began to chime. We hurried down to the square and signed in. We were separated and I was herded into the area for eighteen year old girls. It was my last year of being eligible and I hoped against hope that neither me nor Peeta would be picked. There was utter silence as Effie Trinket tapped her way onto the stage.

"Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds be _ever_ in your favour!" She walked across to the glass ball containing the girl's names.

"Ladies first!" she trilled, thrusting her hand into the ball. She rummaged around for a while, before drawing out a slip of paper. I crossed my fingers.

"Azalea Birchmore!" a fourteen year old girl with sleek black hair stepped up, looking as white as a sheet.

"Vanessa Sleet!" The girl left the safety of the fifteen year old area and ran up the steps to the stage daintily, tossing blonde hair over her shoulder as she went.

"Adina Riverbark!" she started, then seemed to recover and made her way up. Three down, three to go.

"Savannah Claypool!" A ripple of astonishment went through the crowd. No-one saw that one coming. She lives in the posh part of the district. She's the mayor's, sister's daughter or something I think. We were all holding our breath, waiting for the last two names.

"Rhexia Firewick!" I winced as she woodenly climbed the stairs to the stage. One name left. Effie pulled out a final slip of paper and smoothed it out. I held my breath.

"Our final female tribute for this year is…Katniss Everdeen!"


	4. District Nine and Three Quarters

**Yeah, disclaimer and stuff again, I own none of it, except the story line and the characters that don't actually exist (I'm not sure if I even own them, seeing as the names came from a generator. Can anyone advise me about that? I'm new to this.) Please read and review!**

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**Lily POV**

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I know that life is full of surprises, but that was just plain cruel. Why should we compete for the Capitol's fun? Ever since our district was pulled out, training has increased ten-fold. And not just in magic. We had to do three hours of exercise a day. It was awful. The reaping came all too soon. We entered the great hall and Dolores Umbridge was already standing at the front. Harry, Ron and Hermione glowered at her.

"Hem, hem." She started. Someone threw a packet of cough drops at her. "Thank you." She simpered in the direction of Filch the caretaker. Ugh. "I will now receive the names of the twelve tributes from the Goblet of Fire. And without further ado…" the goblet flared up and a piece of paper was spat out into the air. It floated down gently into her hand.

"Sophie Roper!" a third year from Gryffindor rose nervously from her seat and scurried up to the front of the hall.

"Megan Jones!" my best friend rose from the Hufflepuff table, biting her lip. My blood ran cold. Megan, my best friend? The only person I could ever trust.

"Cho Chang!" She rose and I saw Harry look away guiltily.

"Lily Moon!" The world around me froze and then it started spinning and tilting like crazy. Had I heard that right? I obviously had, because Luna gave me a poke in the small of the back. I struggled to breathe evenly as I rose to my feet and, putting one foot in front of the other and made my way to the front of the hall. Once I was at the front with Megan, I turned to face everyone else and the world started to right itself again.

"Pansy Parkinson!" called Umbridge, oblivious to the fact that my world was rapidly shattering around me. Pansy had it coming though, the little git. Only one more now…

"Lavender Brown!" now it was Ron's turn to look guilty. She rose steadily and made her way to the front, but her eyes were wild with fear.

"And now for the boys!" Umbridge sounded delighted. Old bat. A piece of paper flew into her hand.

"Stephen Cornfoot!" a scared looking second year came up.

"Dean Thomas!" I saw Harry and Ron looked at each other and gulp.

"Kevin Entwhistle!" An odd looking Hufflepuff in my year got up.

"Michael Corner!" Ron's little sister, Ginny, looked away and shut her eyes. Umbridge unfolded a piece of paper and a grin spread across her face like she couldn't believe her luck.

"Harry Potter!" there was a collective gasp from around the room. Harry stumbled to his feet and came to stand next to Dean. He ran his hand through his hair and glared at Umbridge who smiled sweetly back. There was only one more left to be picked…

"George Weasley!" He got up shaking slightly. Ron and Ginny's face were both masks of utter horror. I winced, remembering that George's twin Fred was dead. It would probably just about finish them off if George died as well. As soon as we were all up there, Umbridge smiled sweetly around the room. The cameras perched around the room faded out and the other students were herded out. Death Eaters surrounded us and I lost sight of everything around me. Would we be allowed to say goodbye to our loved ones? Somehow I didn't think so. The Death Eaters joined hands around us and started chanting something quietly. They got louder and louder, stepping in towards us with every other beat. We were getting claustrophobic, to the point that we couldn't breathe, when I suddenly felt like I was being tossed through the air. Black fog was clouding the air around me, suffocating me and whirling us around. There were screams piercing the air, when my feet suddenly hit the ground and I fell to the floor along with everyone else. We all picked ourselves up and straightened up nervously. We had arrived in a huge room, tables laden with foods I had never seen before. The ceiling arched way above our heads and the windows barely let in any light. A chandelier hung from the ceiling. There were name cards with plates and cutlery around them. I found my name and sank into a seat gratefully. Sitting either side of me where George and Megan.


	5. The Capitol

**Authors Note: Disclaimer like the other chapters, I own nothing (but could someone please advise me as to whether or not I own characters whose names came from a generator?) It all belongs to JK Rowling and Suzanne Collins. Please read and review!**

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**Lily POV**

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Platters were brought over and set down in the middle of the table. The plate in front of me was filled with food by a silent girl. She looked at us and gave what I took to be an attempt at a shy smile. I gave an equally shy one back. Megan and George started eating their food, so I started too. The food was delicious, but not a patch on the Jaffa cakes that I had liked so much at Hogwarts. We ate until we were stuffed. Our mentors, Aberforth Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall stood up. McGonagall tapped a glass with her spoon.

"You attention please." We all turned to face her expectantly. "You will know that the other district competing is District 12. Their tributes will be arriving tomorrow morning by train. You will have three days training, going around bases with them and getting to know each other."

"You will each have a floor between two. Your names are on a list next to the lift." Aberforth put in.

"Quite right." Agreed McGonagall. Then she gave an unexpected smile. "Do try to win, won't you?" we murmured our assent and were dismissed. The strange, silent girl led us down corridor after corridor, until we came to a lift. There was a piece of paper with a list of names on it.

FLOOR PLAN

Ground Floor: Dining room and training.

First floor: Pansy Parkinson and Cho Chang.

Second Floor: Sophie Roper and Lavender Brown.

Third Floor: Lily Moon and Megan Jones.

Fourth Floor: Stephen Cornfoot and Michael Corner.

Fifth Floor: Kevin Entwhistle and Dean Thomas.

Sixth Floor: Harry potter and George Weasley.

Seventh Floor: Adina Riverbark and Azalea Birchmore.

Eighth Floor: Vanessa Sleet and Savannah Claypool.

Ninth Floor: Katniss Everdeen and Rhexia Firewick.

Tenth Floor: Sedge Cherrytree and Minto Ethelstone.

Eleventh Floor: Tern Fennel and Mist Elderfield.

Twelfth Floor: Pip Woodfield and Jasper Hathwood.

Great. I was going to spend my last living days with my best friend and possibly get to see her being killed. There was a snort of disgust from Pansy as she eyed Cho up and down. We all snorted back, just to annoy her. Cho looked close to tears. The lift appeared and we all crammed in. I was closer to Harry than I would have liked. The doors shut and I felt a swooping sensation as the lift took off. On the first floor Cho stumbled out along with Pansy, to find two more of those silent people waiting for them. Sophie and Lavender left next. Then it was mine and Meg's turn. We followed two of the silent people down even more corridors. One of them took Meg round a different corner to me. We gave each other half waves and carried on. The silent girl I had been following stopped outside a door and opened it for me. I took a step inside and gasped. Compared to my dormitory at Hogwarts, this was so…modern. The walls were painted silver and the bed was pristine. I picked up a remote from the little bedside table, to see what it did. I pressed a button on it at random and the entire wall behind the bed changed to look like a forest. I pressed another one. There was a train station with a gleaming scarlet engine standing next to my bed. Even from a distance I could recognise the Hogwarts Express. Another press and I were face to face with a huge lake. Mist was rolling in across it. Up, high on a mountain, sat a castle that had been my home for almost a year. Hogwarts. It stood splendid and magnificent amongst the minorities of the muggle world. I stared in awe for a moment, and then turned to thank the girl. She was nowhere to be seen. I looked around for a couple of seconds, before opening drawers at random, looking for a pair of pyjamas. I found a pair with cats on them.

"They'll do." I thought to myself. The bed sheets were crisply ironed and cool. I snuggled down into them and tried to doze off…


	6. Jaffa Cakes and silent friends

**Authors Note: Disclaimer, I own nothing, you're probably getting bored of hearing it (as am I) but I have to put it on...Just want to mention my friend on here who helped me so much with this. She knows who she is. Anyway, moving on...**

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**Lily POV**

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The next day was a blur of getting into costumes for the parade that night. Our mentors helped us getting dressed and for the first time, I met my stylist Flint. He was in his early twenties and was dressed in simple black clothes. He was the complete opposite to everyone else that I had met in the Capitol.

"We have something special for you to wear…" he said after we had made light conversation. He threw a robe over me and took me into a small room off the side of the parlour, where I had been waxed and plucked raw by my prep team. I did like them, but they were a little over excitable. Flint took me into the room. His brown hair flopped over one eye as he stared at me in concentration. Suddenly he turned and pulled something covered by a dust sleeve from a rack.

"Close your eyes." He ordered. I felt something slip over my head and gave a gasp as I felt its weight on my shoulders.

"Can I open my eyes yet?" I asked.

"Hmmm…go on then. Yes" I opened them and saw myself in a mirror. I gave another gasp, but this time, one of delight. I was dressed in traditional wizard robes, but Flint had added something extra. When I tapped a button on my wrist, thousands of tiny twinkling lights turned on. Nearer the bottom, the black fabric gave way to bright fluffy white stuff, giving the impression that I was floating on a cloud.

"Thank you!" I grinned at him, feeling weightless. There was a tedious wait for the parade after that, even though it was only half an hour. I had spent all morning and most of the afternoon being prettied up by the prep team and half an hour with Flint. Finally, when it was time, we reported to the mentors downstairs. They had assigned us each to a partner, one boy and one girl to a carriage. I ended up with Dean. I'm not sure which one of us was more uncomfortable about it. We barely knew each other. Meg was with Harry and she looked surprised and delighted at the same time. George grimaced when he was put with Pansy. Each pair wore something different, yet reflecting the magical side of our district. Meg and Harry were in long, flowing cloaks that flew out behind them. They were purple with random snakes, lions, eagles and badgers around the hem and cuffs. I only caught a glimpse of district 12 that night, but they looked stunning. Two of them were on fire. Literally. It was flickering out behind them. Dean and I were shown to a carriage that was being pulled by midnight black horses. I looked along the line of chariots. We were third. The tributes from District 12 were all behind us. The doors to the road opened gently and I felt a sudden stage fright. Dean put an arm out to steady me as we started to trundle forwards. Flint gave me a wave as we travelled out, into the city. The crowd were going wild, shouting out our names and catcalling. I tried for a smile and found that my face had lit up entirely anyway. I caught sight of myself on one of the big screens and realised how breath-taking I looked. How breath-taking we all looked. Dean seemed stunned into silence by the crowds, so I took over, waving at everyone and grinning. People screamed our names and someone threw a packet of Jaffa cakes in my direction. I heard a crack like a whip and spotted the outline of a house elf disapparating. Kreacher. I waved and smiled until my hands and cheeks were sore. Dean had caught hold of my arm and I was losing circulation in it. I shook it gently and whispered out of the corner of my mouth.

"Are you alright? I can't feel my arm!" he loosed his grip slightly and came to his senses. He started waving and grinning at the crowd, with a slightly overawed look. We pulled into the square, and President Flitwick came to the stand at the front of the stage. He gave a bit of a speech about the Hunger Games and the history and everything. I was wondering how I could hide my Jaffa Cakes. When he was done, the carriages started moving again and Dean could let go of me. People cheered on either side of us as we entered the garage that marked the end of the trail. I hopped down with the help of Flint. He hugged me and whispered

"Well done. You did great."

"Really?" the panic that I didn't do well enough was starting to sink in.

"Yes. You're my little star. You are _the_ Star." I gave him one more grateful smile, before being bundled off by Aberforth. I don't really remember after that. I remember pulling on the cat pyjamas and falling into bed. I drifted off to sleep within minutes.

The next morning, I was awakened by a gentle nudge from the silent girl.

"Who are you?" I asked. She took a notebook from her pocket and scribbled:

I'm nobody. I'm an Avox.

"You what?"

I did something bad in the past…they cut my tongue off.

"What?" I sat appalled as she nodded with a sad smile. She then pointed at a clock and mimed getting dressed. I nodded and swung myself out of the bed. She saw my pyjamas and smiled a bit more. I gave her a smile back and went into the bathroom. The shower had all sorts of different buttons. I pressed one that was titled: Cooling roses. That is exactly what I got. Rose petals floated gently from the shower head and the second they touched my skin, it cooled down. Another button read: Mist and Dew. That almost froze me to death, so I was almost relieved to find a button that showered me with boiling water. After that, I found a small button at the bottom that said: Regular shower. That was a relief. When I had finished rinsing myself off, I clambered out and found a pair of brown skinny jeans waiting for me, alongside a deep green t-shirt that was plain, except for a tiny marking on the corner. On closer inspection, I saw that it was actually a wand crossed with an arrow.

"Well, that's encouraging." I thought to myself. The Avox had gone somewhere, so I stepped out of my bedroom door and started down the passage way. I have a good memory, so I found the lift with no trouble at all. As I was waiting for it, I saw Meg round the corner and walk towards me. The lift doors opened and I was surprised to see George and Harry standing there. Meg caught up and we entered the lift together. Harry gave us both a tired smile and George mirrored it. We returned them, equally tired. The lift didn't stop until we reached the ground floor. Harry and George lumbered out, in the general direction of the dining room, when something caught our eyes and made them stop. The huge front doors were opening. Six girls and six boys were shepherded in by a drunken looking man and a fussily dressed woman. I recognised her as the one who had pulled our district out from the glass ball. The twelve children stared at us. Me, Meg, Harry and George stared back. Two girls caught my eye. One of them was about the same age as George and had dark hair in a long plait down her back. The other one must have only been twelve or thirteen and was looking at us furiously. We took a couple of steps back and started down the corridor to the dining room. One of the boys cracked his knuckles at us. Meg and I scampered off, leaving the boys to deal with it. We arrived in the dining room and tried to make ourselves look slightly more presentable. Harry and George arrived just as we were filling our glasses with apple and orange juices, looking shaken.

"Have you seen the size of some of those boys?" George hissed as we slid into chairs at one of the available tables.

"You're worried about the boys? Did you see that girl and how angry she was?" I muttered back "Anger makes people strong!"

"I suppose…" Professor McGonagall stood up and clapped her hands for our attention. We stopped and looked at her.

"The other tributes have arrived and the way I hear it, it looks as though some of you have already met them." Her gaze lingered on us for a few moments, before she continued "You will start training today. You will be on the ground floor in the gym. There are different bases to work your way around. After three days, you will have a chance to impress the game makers. Your overall training score can affect your amount of sponsors. Choose what you do wisely." Her face of concern made me feel guilty for no reason. "You may go." There was the scraping of chairs as we all rose to get to the gym. Yet another Avox lead us down corridor after corridor. We reached the gym at the same time as district 12. They gave us dirty looks as they went in.


	7. Training time! Yipee

**I know your all getting bored of these note, but it has to be said. So: I OWN NOTHING. There we go, you can get on with the story now...**

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**Lily POV**

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There was a lady standing in the middle of the room.

"Please make a circle around me." She smiled at us and I felt sickened by her. We were training to fight to the death and she wanted us to stand in a circle? "My name is Atala. I am going to explain the training process to you." I let my mind wander as she pointed out various stands. The tributes from 12 seemed thinner and more hollowed than us. I felt very well groomed and fed next to them. The two girls that I had noticed earlier were both better fed than the others. There were a couple of boys from 12 that towered above everyone. One of them cracked his knuckles and I realised it was the same one as earlier. The second that Atala walked away, Meg and I looked at each other and started towards the climbing stand. There was a model tree to climb, along with a pillar. I noticed that one of the walls was sloped, into a makeshift hill. Meg was already amazing at climbing, since she had been shoved out of the Astronomy tower in our first year. She had caught hold of a strand of ivy, before grabbing the jutting out stones and climbing down to the safety of the next window down. To this day, people still call her the flying lemur, convinced that she had flown down. I can sometimes climb trees, but the Whomping Willow never lets me close enough to try.

We aced the climbing then moved on to the edible plants. I have a good memory, so I was fine, but Meg had been in Hufflepuff at Hogwarts and almost ate some Nightlock berries before we stopped her. My concern for her was matched by the person running almost every stand over the next three days. She tripped and almost skewered herself on a spear when we were having our first lesson on throwing them. She wasn't all that bad at it to be honest, but I dreaded to think what would become of her in the arena. There were people to fight against at the weapon stalls. I tried my hand at archery and failed miserably. The older girl I had noticed from District 12 was amazing at it. I'd hate to get on the wrong side of that bow and arrow. I enjoyed myself on the camouflage stand. Using berries and leaves, we covered our arms with designs to help us blend into the trees. McGonagall had told us to stay away from the one base that we would use in our private session, so that no-one would know about it. I was still worried about what to do. I mean, I wasn't really all that good at anything.

The final day came and I still had no idea. I am quite quick witted and can think of a comeback to anything on the spot, but I just can't fight. I would only have a chance if there was a wand in the arena. But the odds haven't been in my favour recently, so I'm kind of screwed. After we had all been to the last base we needed to, we were shepherded into a waiting room. We were first, before district 12 in the same boy-girl order that we had been in the chariots. George went in first, followed by Pansy. Then Harry, Meg, Stephen, Lavender and Dean in that order. I was called in after Dean. My palms were sweating. I wiped them on the black leggings that had been draped ready over my chair that morning. My hands just slid off, as if the leggings had been charmed to repel sweat. I held my head high and walked in. The game-makers in their balcony gave me a glance, before carrying on with their food. I slipped over to the weapons stand. There were axes, knives, bows, arrows and all sorts. Then it came to me. I found the rope. I had learnt to make basic snares and things on the knot tying base, but I had had an idea. There was a dummy to one side of the gym. I tied a loop in the rope and lassoed it round the neck. As quickly as I could, I began to tie the arms behind its back. It was struggling against me. My pulse quickened as I dragged it backwards towards the nearest tree. A discarded knife lay nearby.

"Goodbye." I whispered before slitting where his throat would have been. I found a bunch of Nightlock berries and tipped them into his mouth and down its throat. I could hear the cannon fire, smell the forest floor. A ripple of laughter brought me to my senses. The gamemakers had abandoned their food and were watching me intently.

"You may go." One of them said with a peculiar, half smile. I nodded and stalked out, with as much dignity as I could muster. Once outside I groaned to myself. That was my downfall. My imagination. All I had meant to do was tying the dummy to the tree and maybe set a few snares. Instead I had shown them exactly how I was going to kill somebody. Drat.

I emerged into the dining room from the gym. The others were already there, talking and laughing about what they had done. George had found a stick of wood and carved it into a deadly boomerang which had sliced through all of the targets. Harry had found a sword and fought a man. Meg had climbed the tree and leapt as though defying gravity to the pillar and back. I wasn't sure what Pansy had done, but from the stormy look on her face, I wasn't about to ask. Lavender and Stephen had just shown what they could do with weapons. I on the other hand, had allowed myself to fall into my imagination and make a complete fool of myself. As more and more people came in, I became more and more worried. Had I done enough to get a good training score? Tea was served and I hardly ate a bite. The Avox girl that I had made sort-of friends with noticed and mimed eating with a frown. I shook my head and mimed vomiting, which amused her. Tea was the longest meal that I had ever had to sit through.

When the final course had been served, we rose, to watch the huge flat-screen TV and receive our final training scores. Our district was first. The results came in the same order as we had been admitted. George scored an eight which was good. Pansy got a five and went off to sulk. Harry and Meg did well too, getting a nine and a seven respectively. I was eighth. My face flashed up, followed by my score. I held my breath. A number swam in front of my eyes. Ten! I scored a ten for training! People clapped me on the back, whilst I stared at the screen. The next person had come up now, which was Kevin. I think he got a seven. I wasn't really sure of anything now. Only two other people drew or beat me. They were the two girls that I had seen from twelve. The younger one scored an eleven and the older one scored a ten like me. They looked powerful, believe me. I swallowed hard and held my head high as they glowered at me from the other side of the room. McGonagall sent us all up to bed insisting that "You have a long day tomorrow!"


	8. Preparing for the interview

**Disclaimer, I am getting bored of writing it, I own nothing! (Surprise, surprise...) Hope you like the story so far, sorry if it's a bit boring, it will get more interesting once the games start, I promise. Anyway, here we go:**

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**Lily POV**

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I was shaken awake by the Avox girl. We seemed to have become good friends. We didn't even have to speak to get our meanings across. She had short brown hair in a bob and glittering green eyes. I was almost as tall as her, but not quite. Her teeth were pristine white, but I had never dared to ask if I could see what was left of her tongue…and no I do mean it like that. I showered and pulled on the blue t-shirt and grey trousers she had laid out for me. Breakfast was quiet. Too quiet if you get what I mean. McGonagall tapped on her glass.

"Your attention please." We all looked at her. "You have each been assigned to a mentor that will help you prepare for your interviews tomorrow. I think you will like them. There are twelve rooms along the white corridor outside. They have your names on. Good Luck!" she gave us a smile, then disaparated with a crack like a whip. I drained the last drops of apple juice from my glass, before rising and following Meg and George from the room. The corridor was right outside, stretching down to the right. We shrugged at each other and followed it. I came to a door right at the end of it. My name was engraved on a plaque. Takings a deep breath, I knocked. The voice that called out for me to come in made me gasp with delight.

"Luna!" I hurtled in and gave her a bear hug, nearly knocking her over. The door clicked shut behind me.

"Why don't you sit down?" she said in her sweet voice. It sounded dreamy, yet I knew that underneath she was just as sane as I am. I sank into a seat opposite her.

"Okay. I know you have good posture. So we don't need to worry about that. You are basically perfect in how you behave as well. So all we need to do is come up with an angle for you to play at."

"Sounds simple…" I nodded in surprise.

"…but it's not." Luna finished for me. She looked me in the eye. "Somehow, I think that you wouldn't be suited to anything sexy. You could try playing witty."

"Witty?" I echoed. "Okay." I liked the sound of that. Luna began firing questions at me. An hour later, we sat beaming at each other.

"I know that you'll be fine." Luna said "I feel like I know you properly. I know you even better than the nargles." I smiled weakly at this. She then decided that, to pass time, we would practice posture and poise a bit. I mean it. My head hurt from having to balance an Encyclopaedia on it for a couple of hours and walk round and round the room with it. Lunch came and went. We didn't really have much to do until Luna spoke suddenly.

"We should make sure you have a backup angle, in case, you know, you get stage fright or something and can't think of anything witty to say." I nodded. We tried. Sexy? Nope. Humble? Nope. Evil? Nope. Strong? Are you kidding me? We couldn't find anything. "Well, we tried." Sighed Luna afterwards. I looked up at the ceiling and had an idea.

"Luna, ask me a question."

"What?"

"Just ask me one."

"Okay…so what is it like here in the Capitol?"

"I think it's great here, but it could really do with more normal clothes because I mean, who really wants to wake up and have to carry around a dress weighing 20 stone every day? Oh and you've got a bit of dirt on your nose. Did you know?" I rattled this all off at top speed. Luna realised what I was doing and nearly wet herself laughing.

"You sounded just like-"

"Hermione. I know." Luna was gasping for breath and sat up.

"Lily, I'm sorry but you can't do that." I gave slight groan. "Why not?"

"Lily you can't do it. It would be mocking Hermione and making a fool out of her in front of everyone."

"Fine. Luna…" I struggled to find the words to describe something that had been worrying me a lot lately. "What'll happen if you know…I die?"

"Well you'd be dead, so you won't need to worry about it!"

"But what about the others? Meg? Harry? George? What would I do then?" I swallowed the lump in my throat. "I couldn't live without them."

"You can avenge their deaths, by killing everyone else!" Luna said brightly.

"But I couldn't live without them. I couldn't." tears were spilling out of my eyes and downs my cheeks.

"Lily…" Luna voice was softer now, and her eyes were wide. "There's nothing you can do. If they die, then _they_ won't have to live without _you_." I realised that I suddenly had tears pouring down my face in torrents. Luna gave me a hug, her eyes just as bright as mine. The bell for tea went. We broke apart and dried our eyes. If there was one thing that the Capitol had taught me, it was how to act. No-one even noticed my slightly red eyes.


	9. Preparations-Capitol Style!

**Note: I own nothing, it all belongs to JK Rowling and Suzanne Collins. I hope you like the story so far, please, please read and review, I really want to know if it's any good...Enjoy!**

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**Lily POV**

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I fell asleep that night with the Avox girl watching over me. In the morning it was my prep team. They were busy bustling about, telling me that I was the star and all that. A slight crackle of paper made me jump as I sat up. A letter was attached to my pillow. I glanced around cautiously. None of my prep team was looking. I unfolded it and read the familiar handwriting.

_Dear Lily,_

_I won't see you again until after the games, so I want you to know that I am behind you every step of the way. You are unforgettable and will have no trouble gaining sponsors, I'm sure of it. If I could bet, then I would bet on you._

_Love Grace xxx_

Grace. So that was her name. The Avox, I mean. As I read her letter, I calmed down. She was right. If I played my cards right at the interview, I could still gain sponsors. And sponsors meant food. My prep team were suddenly ready. They swarmed around me, chattering. I recognised Hazelle and Molva, but the other one was new.

"Lily this is Alvia, you haven't met her before. She's the last member of the prep team, but she was ill when the parade was on." Babbled Hazelle. I nodded politely and smiled at Alvia. The smile wasn't returned. They got to work quickly and I must say they did do a good job. Hazelle constantly flicked her bubble-gum pink hair out of her eyes. Silver dragon tattoos crept up her arms as she worked. Molva was shorter and more round. Her skin was tinged baby blue. Alvia was thin lipped, but she still looked amazing, blending in with the madness of the Capitol, yet sticking out somehow. Her purple hair was cut short. Her lips were painted black. She was tall and slender. Her clothes were gothic. She gave off a vibe that said quite clearly: "Don't mess with me, or you won't have a chance to regret it." I stayed quiet, only answering questions when I was asked them. By the end of my ordeal (which took all morning and most of the afternoon,) I felt raw. I had been waxed (again) and they had applied my makeup. My hair was piled up in a bun on my head. They had used two donut things, one big at the bottom and one smaller on top to create the look. When I looked in the mirror, I barely recognised myself. All I saw was a stunning girl whose smile lit up her face. She was as radiant as the sun. It was getting late. I vaguely wondered where Flint was.

"There." Said Hazelle after putting the finishing touches to my makeup. "Beautiful!" There was a knock at the door. Flint sidled in, holding a garment covered in a dust protector.

"Close your eyes." He ordered with a slight smile. I slid them shut obediently. I heard them unzipping the dust protector and the rustle of fabric as they took off the hanger. "Hold your arms up." Flint ordered. I held them up and felt the fabric slide over me. It didn't weigh a thing. The shoulder straps were in place and I was told to open my eyes. There was a princess in front of me. I kid you not, between them, Flint and my prep team had made me into a princess. The dress was short and blue. There was a silver star on the right hand side, with little shoots of silver bursting up my neck. The sash around it was silver. There was even a tiara. The heels that I had to walk in were tall. Not that I had a problem with that, seeing as my balance is near enough perfect. I gave them a twirl and Hazelle and Molva screamed in delight. Alvia just gave her thin lipped smile and turned away. Flint had his hands clasped together in front of him. I gave them a radiant smile. As they were admiring my outfit, and giving it little tweaks, the door opened and McGonagall peered in.

"It's time to go."


	10. Waiting for the interviews

**Hi again! Very happy now that I've got some reviews, can I just put a shout out to those four followers: Artistic Dragonet, elizabeth. , kpickle28 and krikanalo! Thanks for reviewing Elizabeth and krikanalo! I own nothing (as usual) and I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**I know this is two chapters in one day, but I couldn't wait to put this one on, so here we go...**

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**Pip POV**

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My stylist, Cherry, had just finished tweaking my suit. It looked amazing. I mean it was red and had gold cuffs and everything. The Capitol was so different to how I had imagined it. Everyone there was so over the top and crazy. Haymitch looked in and beckoned for me.

"Pip. We're going to the interview. You need to pull this off if you want sponsors, okay?"

"Okay." I replied in surprise. We said a hasty goodbye to Cherry and my prep team, before taking the lift down to the cab waiting for us. The door was opened automatically and swung shut after us, with a satisfying click. The other boys from our district were sitting there. I had been called last. Sedge and Tern were staring in different directions out of the windows. Mist was lying with his head against the window. Minto and Jasper were talking in low voices to each other. I didn't say anything. I was the youngest out of our district. Well, Rhexia was a couple of weeks younger than me, but I still felt the youngest. The cab pulled out and soon we were weaving in and out of cars in the city's streets. We screeched to a halt outside the arena. Photographers surrounded us as we were ushered backstage.

"Pip!" I turned just in time to see a photographer click the button on her camera, before being wrestled to the ground by a police officer. She had looked vaguely familiar. Haymitch gave me a prod in the small of the back to hurry me up. I ran up the stairs after the others. All the other tributes were there. A girl of about eighteen was scurrying about with a clipboard. Her black hair was pulled back into a messy bun. She was dragging people into order, ready for our interviews. Our district was after the other one. Adina, Sedge, Azalea, Minto, Katniss, Jasper, Savannah, Tern, Vanessa, Mist and Rhexia were in line. The girl caught hold of my arm. She had a grip like steel.

"Pip Woodfield?"

"Yes."

"Get behind Rhexia. You're last."

"Okay." I scurried over to get behind Rhexia. She turned to give me a smile. She looked stunning. Her dress was layered red and gold, with a slightly ragged hem on each layer. A pair of gauzy wings was attached to her back. She gave me a confused look. I realised that she had said something.

"Sorry, what?" I said biting my lip.

"Are you okay? You've gone as white as a sheet!" Her voice was still full of fire, but there was something different about it. She winced as she heard it.

"What have they done to your voice?" I said in horror.

"They gave me a tablet this morning. They told me it was a hay fever tablet. When I looked at the box later on though, it said that they were tablets to make me sound more feminine!" I felt so sorry for her. Rhexia was looking at the floor. She looked ready to cry.

"Rhexia, you sound fine. Better than fine in fact." I murmured as the clipboard girl glared at me.

"Yes, but what will I sound like on the TV? What will they think back home? They'll think that I've changed. But I haven't!" she hissed at me. I took an involuntary step backwards.

"Rhexia, no-one could ever change you. You're my best friend." I whispered. That did it. Her expression softened and she smiled, though her eyes were bright. Have I ever mentioned that when Rhexia smiles, her whole face lights up? Well it does. And it doesn't very often either. "If you smile like that in the interview, you're guaranteed to get sponsors." She smiled a bit more.

"Thank you!" she mouthed. I grinned at her. Mist turned around to raise an eyebrow at us.

"Shut up."

"Or what?" Rhexia tilted her head to one side and raised an eyebrow back at him.

"Or I'll say in front of the whole Capitol that you two are lovebirds." he started to turn away, but Rhexia caught hold of his arm and swung him round firmly. Let me tell you, she's stronger than she looks.

"You dare say that, and the second we're in the arena, I'll make you wish you were never born." She hissed this so vehemently that he took a step back looking freaked out. I glared at him and he held up his hands in mock surrender, before turning back round. Rhexia and I looked at each other, before doubling up in silent laughter. We shut up as the clipboard girl started stalking over to us.

"You two should be rehearsing how your interviews are going to go, not having a laugh. Now behave!" she hissed.

"Okay." Rhexia whispered back. She squinted at the girls name badge. "Okay, Ixia, we'll be good little children now." She gave an innocent smile. I tried to copy it, but it never did work for me. Ixia gave an irritable sigh and stalked away. Haymitch and Effie were working their way up the line, giving advice and stuff. When Haymitch got to me and Rhexia, he tilted his head to one side, before leaning towards us and muttering.

"You two need to play up the whole best friend thing. It's your best chance of getting sponsors. You're the youngest tributes, so if you play it up you could gain a lot." We stared at him, then at each other. We nodded simultaneously. "Good. Well, good luck!" he stood back as Effie came bustling over.

"Are you ready?" she asked. We nodded again. "Good. Now the interviews are due to start in five minutes, so when they are on, you two need to be silent. Got it?" We nodded yet again. Seriously, this was a lot of nodding. "Good, good." Effie was muttering under her breath as she walked away.

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**All reviews are welcome, constructive criticism as well!**


	11. Pip and Rhexia, sitting in a tree

**Note: I own nothing and thank you to krikanalo for reviewing regularly! This is my first FanFic so I am getting to grips with stuff...Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

Five minutes later, the curtain went up and the first girl from district 9 and ¾ walked on. I think her name was Cho. She was stylish and confident that she could win. The queue shortened as more and more people had their turn. A few jumped out at me, like a dreamy looking girl called Lily. Her dress was stunning too. There was a tall boy with flaming red hair. There was one particularly stupid looking girl called Pansy. Pansy. What a name. Our district was next. Sedge and Minto got away with being monstrous and not talking very much. The girls just simpered their way through it. Apart from Katniss and Rhexia. I only knew Katniss from working in the bakery. She was in a long, clingy dress. It was made of triangles. Black, white and red. It had a train that dragged along the floor behind her. She told the Capitol a bit about home, and how she had volunteered to save her sister who had died anyway. Half of the audience were crying into handkerchiefs. She had them spellbound. Rhexia had tears in her eyes afterwards. When it was her turn, I felt kind of lonely. There was no-one standing there to laugh with. I watched her on the big screen. Caesar Flickerman was there, laughing with her. He asked her what her favourite thing about the Capitol was and her reply was:

"The wacky costumes. That and the fact that now I'm here I have a chance to kill someone." She gave the audience a wicked grin. Not the smile that lit up her face, but an evil grin. They talked about home and her high training score (she got an eleven.) I'm not sure what she did though. I got an eight. I suddenly heard my name and looked up at the TV. Rhexia was saying:

"Yes, he's my best friend." She looked down at the floor and bit her lip. "I don't know what I'd do if he died." Caesar patted her arm.

"How long have you two been friends?"

"As long as I can remember. He's always been there for me." The Capitol audience sighed. I looked down at my feet. When I looked up again, I saw that somehow, the camera had found me and was showing me looking down. My cheeks had gone slightly pink.

"I wish you the best of luck Rhexia. Everybody, Rhexia Firewick!" there was cheers and catcalls as her stood up and held her hand up. She gave a smile. The audience cheered even more as her face lit up. Between that and the dress, she could have been anyone. But she was still my best friend Rhexia. She left the stage and before I knew it, it was my turn. I wasn't exactly sure what to say, so I was a bit vague when he asked me my favourite thing about the Capitol. I think my answer was something about how huge it was and how I loved the glass lifts. Caesar laughed at this, before turning to the audience and saying:

"When I was Pip's age, I spent hours going up and down the block of flats where we lived in the lift." He gave me a wink "I once forgot to press the down button and so spent the day trapped in the lift on the top floor!" That got him a big laugh from the audience. Then he turned to me.

"So about your friend Rhexia. Can you remember the first time you two met?" I remembered it as clear as day.

"We were in reception. It was our first day." I recalled. "We were lining up, but there was one girl who wouldn't. She was up a tree. The teachers couldn't get her to come down, so I went over to try. I looked up and called something to her like she might fall down. She threw an apple at me and it hit me in the face." I paused for breath as the audience smiled and laughed. "When she laughed, her whole face lit up. I started climbing the tree, to try and get her down. Once I was up there though, I could see why she didn't want to come down. We could see the whole district. In the end we stayed put and bunked off school for the day." This one got a big laugh from the audience. "So there you have it. Oh and by the way, the apple she threw at me tasted good." People cheered and whistled.

"And what is she to you now?" Caesar asked arching an eyebrow. "Still a friend, or something more?" I pondered on it for a minute.

"She's my best friend. Nothing will ever change that. But I don't fancy her or anything, and I don't think she feels that way about me. So in answer to your question Caesar, to me Rhexia is the person I can lean on. She is always there for me and I wouldn't be without her." The audience cheered as the buzzer went to signal the end of my time on stage. The big screen was showing Rhexia smiling at the ground and shaking her head. I left the stage and was lead to a room with the other tributes. As I walked through the door, she flew at me. I thought that she was going to try and kill me for what I had said, but she was hugging me.

"Pip, that was amazing." She said breathlessly when she had released me. "Really?" I was astonished.

"Yes!" I hugged her back suddenly. We let go and were guided back to our cabs, waving and grinning at each other. Once inside it, the other boys from my district just ignored me. I had won the crowd over and they knew it. Also, there was one other thing on my mind…


	12. The Arena

**Disclaimer, I own nothing (again) thank you for reviews, lets just get on with the story...**

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**Pip POV**

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Once we were back, I and Jasper travelled in the elevator to the top floor in silence. I nodded at him as we got out. To my surprise it was returned. I made my way to the balcony and leaned against the wall, looking over the Capitol at night. Before long I was joined. She had come.

"Rhexia, I-"

"Ssh." She whispered "I can't be caught up here with you!" I nodded.

"Okay. Are you okay with what I said at the interview?"

"I'm more than okay." She murmured. I glanced sideways at her. "Pip, I was starting to think that you were getting bored of just being friends." Her words tumbled out, as if she was afraid that if she didn't say them now, then she never would. I heaved a sigh of relief.

"So you don't want to kill me?" I checked.

"Why would I do that?" her eyes widened.

"I thought that you were bored with being just friends as well." I looked away, over the city.

"Pip…"

"Sorry. I just had to check."

"That's fine." I could hear her smile. I glanced down at her. She grinned up at me. I'm not sure how long we stayed up there for, but it was long enough.

"The odds are never in our favour." I muttered. She gave a short laugh.

We crept back to our rooms. Rhexia obviously made it to her room without being caught, because the next morning, when we were woken up early, there wasn't any marks on her face from being slapped. She even smiled at me, though I'm not sure why, seeing as we were probably going to be dead by nightfall. I managed to force down some breakfast, though I was sure to be sick. Haymitch stood up and coughed to get our attention. Each tribute was separated and taken to a different room by an Avox. When I opened the door, I saw Cherry waiting for me. She came over to me and took me gently by the arm.

"Pip, we're going to the arena now. The cab is waiting for us outside." She gestured to a door the other side of the room. I walked through and found myself in a white corridor. At the end, I had to climb in. Cherry followed behind me. "You're not allowed to see outside, that's why the end of the corridor fits so perfectly with the door of the car."

"Okay." The car ride wasn't long. Before I knew it, I was climbing after Cherry _into_ a white corridor. We followed it, before turning a corner into a room. There was a glass tube in the corner, with a platform. No-one bothered us. Cherry tried to coax me to eat, but I flatly refused. I was the only tribute who was ever going to use this room. I wasn't about to eat and get crumbs all over it.

"At least take a bottle of water in with you." Cherry whispered. She picked one up and slid it into my coat. There was a secret compartment for it. She put her finger to her lips. "Don't tell them about it. Okay?"

"Okay." That was all I seemed capable of saying today. Maybe that would be my last word. Okay. Cherry and I sat in silence, wishing that we were anywhere else but here. A robotic female voice suddenly crackled through an intercom.

"30 seconds until the platforms rise. Please get into the glass tube." I looked across at Cherry, seized with a sudden fear.

"You'll be fine. Don't go to the Cornucopia. Grab something near you and run. Got it?"

"Yes."

"Twenty seconds remaining." My pulse quickened and my breathing became uneven. Cherry lead me across to the tube.

"Good luck!" I stepped inside and a door slid shut around me. I looked up to see daylight.

"Ten seconds. Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four, Three, Two…One." I waved at Cherry as the platform began to rise. My feet were rising, until I was level with her head, I carried on going up. She was soon out of sight. I stood upright and made sure I wasn't leaning to the side or anything. I didn't want to fall over and get blown up or anything. The arena started to come into view. I spotted Rhexia on a platform three away from me. Sedge was the other side of her. On one side of me was the red-head and the other side was Lily. The digital countdown on the cornucopia was on 43 seconds. The Cornucopia was standing in the middle. Behind me was a huge forest. There was a field in front. I couldn't see a lake anywhere. One of the girls from 9 and ¾ stepped off her podium. We all groaned. The second her feet hit the ground, she was blown to smithereens.

"Pansy!" screamed a couple of the girls from her district. We all saw the bits of skin float to the ground. I looked at the remains of her body. Rhexia and Sedge were covered in her blood. They groaned and wiped it off the best they could. The clock was counting down. A giggling woman's voice announced:

"Now let the 76th annual Hunger Games…begin!"


	13. Sectumsempra

**Hello yet again! I own nothing, yada yada...anyways the games have started! I wasn't exactly sure how to write them, so this is my best shot. Thanks for reading and may the odds be ever in your favour!**

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**George POV**

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Hearing Bellatrix's voice as commentator was like a punch in the stomach. Harry had gone completely white. The clock was counting down. We got ready to run. Three…two…one.

I launched myself off the podium and into the fray. Fred was shouting in my ear to duck. It kind of helped to have him to guide me. My twin was dead by the way. My severed ear must have been in the same place as him. He yelled into it sometimes, and it often helped. I ducked as a knife flew past my head. I cursed my ginger hair. It acted like a beacon. There was a pack near me. I grabbed it, not caring what was in it. There was a knife near me as well. I grabbed at it, but a girl from the other district got there first. Little git.

"Run!" came Fred's yell as she raised it. I rolled out of the way and took off into the forest behind me. She didn't bother throwing it after me. Years of being Gryffindor beater have made me immune to being hit round the head with stuff traveling at 100mph. I reached the trees in seconds and darted around them, determined to loose anyone following me.

"Try to find a source of water." Fred reminded me.

"Thanks." I muttered back "Can you see anything?"

"No. You're on your own there mate." I rolled my eyes and carried on. After a few minutes, I slowed down and listened out for anything suspicious. There was nothing, so I stopped to climb a tree. As I dragged myself up higher, I looked out around the forest. A cannon blast made me nearly fall out of the tree. There was another. I counted eight. So, the initial fighting was over. One was for Pansy, thank the lord. Stupid toad. The other seven were a mystery.

"I think one of them is Lavender." muttered Fred's voice. I nodded curtly and hung on to my branch. I settled myself on the branch and started to look through my pack. There was a pack of matches; a penknife; some rope for setting traps; night vision goggles; a packet of crackers; a sleeping bag; a canteen; some water purification tablets and _a wand!_ A wand!

"Argumenti!" I whispered in delight. A tiny amount of water trickled out of the end, into the canteen. I stared at it, puzzled. Usually I had a jet of crystal clear water shoot straight out of the tip.

"It's the Hunger Games George. Honestly!" Fred's voice came out loud and clear. Realisation dawned on me. It was jinxed to be used for fighting purposes only. A twig snapping made me jump. I glanced down to see a blonde haired girl looking around nervously.

"Sophie." I thought grimly. I couldn't bring myself to kill her outright, so instead I whispered.

"Sectumsempra!" She obviously heard me, for she spun round to see who it was. Her eyes found me as the curse hit her full in the face. Wounds appeared as though she had been slashed all over.

"George!" she was screaming my name. I grimaced and looked down. Blood was pouring out of the wounds. She carried on screaming, her hair turning pink, stained with her own blood. Sophie fell to the floor, writhing and screaming in agony. She slowed down. Cannon fired. A bolt of lightning shot from the sky, missing me by inches. I cursed as it picked her up and zapped her away. Yells filled the air as they saw it. An arrow shot past my ear. I glared down, to see the girl from district 12 who had gotten a ten in training. She had a bow and arrow. Her face told me that she meant business. I leapt from my branch to another tree.

"Blinking' hell mate!" Fred yelled. I grabbed hold of a branch and thankfully, it didn't snap. The girl looked stunned. I pointed my wand at her. She gave me a look of terror. Then she scarpered. "You could've got her!" Fred pointed out.

"She would have shot me first." I said out loud. There was a yell, a cannon fire and a lightning bolt flashed through the air a couple of meters away. My mouth went dry. I dropped from the tree and legged it. Night was falling. I slowed. There was a tree that would be perfect for sleeping in. I climbed it, looked around and started to lean back against the trunk. My head lolled to the side and I started to drift off. The Capitol anthem blared out suddenly, bringing me to my senses. The Capitol Seal was floating in mid-air. I stared at it. Faces were floating in mid-air, showing who had been killed. Their picture showed up, along with their name. Pansy was no surprise and it turned out that Fred had been right about Lavender. Sophie's face appeared. I turned away in guilt until it changed. Stephen and Michael. I hadn't really expected them to get through or anything. There were Vanessa, Adina and Azalea from twelve and two boys called Tern and Jasper. One of them must have been killed when I was in the tree then. The last face faded away. I looked up to see the Seal once more, before it faded into darkness. Well that was ten down. Only fourteen left, I thought grimly. No one moved at night. I didn't bother climbing inside the sleeping bag. I just dragged it around my shoulders and found a piece of rope to tie myself to a branch. I didn't want to risk falling and breaking my neck. My eyes slid shut.


	14. Catching Fire

**Hello! I own nothing, thanks for the constructive criticism krikanalo I have tried to make the paragraphs a little shorter. (Seriously most of this was just one huge block of writing.) Please review, I know there have been a lot of views and yet just seven comments. (six of which are from the same person.) Happy reading!**

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**George POV**

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A chorus of birds aroused me. My eyes snapped open and I turned my head so quickly it cricked. With fumbling fingers I untied the rope and repacked my possessions. Yawning, I slid down the tree. Once standing, I noticed my burning thirst. My throat was completely dry and I had no water.

With my rucksack slung over my shoulder, I crept through dense trees. Something caught my eye. I turned my head slowly. A plume of smoke was rising in the distance. Probably one of the girls. I shook my head in disgust and carried on. There was no-one to stop me. A cannon fire brought me to a halt. It was followed by another. The lightning struck down. I seriously hoped it was those monsters from twelve that it was for.

I carried on. Stopping every few minutes to listen with my one ear. Unconsciously, I reached up to touch the gaping hole in the side of my head.

"Don't do that" muttered Fred "It makes me feel sick!" I dropped my hand.

"Can you see any water?" I whispered.

"I think there's some ahead. Did you know that once all the faces were shown last night, they turned up here?" This was news to me. I raised my eyebrows and carried on. I walked. And I walked. There was nothing. Just trees and birds. I listened intently for a couple of seconds. Still nothing.

About to give up, I collapsed beside a tree. My mouth was crackling, it was that dry. I felt lightheaded. McGonagall had told me that finding water was priority. I knew that now. The lake had probably been taken by the older ones from twelve.

A cannon fire rang out. I vaguely wondered what had happened to Harry as I watched the lightning shoot down. He had probably made for the woods as well. Or he had gone to the lake. As long as there was a sword handy, he'd be fine.

Then I was dragged from my wonderings. My ear had picked up a sound other than birds and the rustling of leaves. A faint trickle of water. I stood up as best I could. It was still there. Cautiously I made my way towards the sound. A thin stream was winding its way down the slight hill. It was crystal clear and I spotted a couple of fish darting in and out of the ripples. My canteen was filled up and I waited for as long as I could for it to purify. When I judged that half an hour had passed, I drank a couple of sips.

When I still felt alright, I gulped it down and filled it up again. The purifying tablets did their job well. I placed the canteen in my rucksack and stood up. That's when I realised how weak I was from hunger. The fish looked tempting. I found the rope and did the one thing that I could remember from training. I weaved a net. It didn't actually take me that long to finish it and catch myself three fish. I couldn't for the life of me tell you what they were though.

I thought about how best to build a fire without being found out. There was a lot of green stuff about. Maybe I could make a small fire out of that? Bit by bit, my tiny pyramid grew. I kept it small, but made sure to build it by the base of a tree.

An idea formed in my mind. The fish could be cooked quickly. I lit the fire and skewered them onto a peeled twig. The tree had a lot of green stuff around it which would catch quickly. Smoke would go up, leading the other tributes into my trap. It was worth a shot.

The fish cooked surprisingly well. I bit into one and it tasted good. The green around the tree was starting to catch. Smoke started rising. I picked myself up and scampered up a nearby tree to watch. There were a few yells as it started to spiral upwards.

A huge boy came tearing into the clearing. The smoke was so dense that he didn't see me. I held my wand out, pointing it straight at his heart.

"Sectum- …Hey!" I started as Cho ran into the clearing, followed closely by a girl from the other district.

"Sedge!" she cried. The boy's mouth curved upwards into an evil grin. I pulled my wand back quickly.

"Hello Savannah." It happened so quickly. He moved like lightning, pinning Savannah up against a tree. She struggled and tried to move as he held her there. He pulled out a knife. I'm pretty sure he realised what Cho was doing, for he turned and stabbed her in the chest, just as she was about to stab him in the back. Her last screams echoed around the arena. There was a cannon fire and her body was removed.

Sedge had Savannah by the throat. He lifted the knife to it and drew a faint line across her throat. She looked near to fainting. He drew across it again, slightly harder. She tried to scream for help. He stuffed his knuckle in her mouth and drew the line again. He repeated it over and over, digging deeper into her flesh each time. I looked on, sickened.

Why didn't I just finish him off now? Because if I did kill him, then I would most likely have to kill her later. It was best just to let him get on with it. After what seemed like an eternity, the last of her screams echoed away and cannon fired.

The heat from the fire was becoming unbearable. I looked around for a nearby tree to leap to and realised, to my horror that they were all in flames! Sedge was still strutting about, holding his knife. I didn't dare move. Flames were starting to close in on me. One licked at my hand, sending unbearable pain shooting up my arm.

"Jump! George, jump you idiot!" Fred was yelling into my ear.

"I can't!" I groaned back. "I'm going to die, either way!" In despair, I looked down. Just in time to see the arrow embed itself firmly into a tree right next to Sedge's head. He took one look at it and scarpered. The girl from twelve took hold of it and yanked it out.

"Come down you idiot." She called, making me jump. Was she talking to me? "I can see your red hair from here!" Oh, so it was me then. I hesitated, before leaping down and approaching her. "What's your name anyway?" she asked conversationally, as if we weren't trapped in the middle of what was starting to resemble Hell. My hand was burning up.

"Can we get out of here first?" We scrambled over a fallen log, into fresh forest, before running in the opposite direction to Sedge, down the river. After what we judged to be a safe distance, we slowed down.

"George Weasley. What about you?"

"Katniss Everdeen." Her eyes were straying to where my missing ear had once been.

"I can't hear out of it. It's completely gone." I muttered. She tilted her head to one side.

"The first time I was here, I lost the hearing in my ear as well." I stared at her in surprise.

"How many times have you had to enter?"

"This is my third." I widened my eyes. She was holding the bow and had a quiver of arrows slung over her shoulder. "I should go. People will find us here."

"Okay." I nodded and turned to go.

"George?" I turned back. "Be careful. Look out for Sedge, Minto and Mist. They will kill first, ask questions later."

"Thanks." We turned and ran off in separate directions. Why had she rescued me? I decided to ponder on it later.

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	15. Dark times

**Okay, so last bit from Georges POV. I own nothing apart from the story line. Thanks for the reviews! I don't mind if they're long or short I will read any! Also, this chapter involves some violence, so please bear that in mind. Happy reading!**

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**George POV**

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I followed the river, until I came to the end of the woods. It ended in a tiny pond. I plunged my burnt hand into it gratefully. Fish darted in and out of reeds. There was even a tree, perfect for sleeping in. I climbed it and started to weave another net.

There were some berries nearby. I recognised them. That was the other thing I had been good at in training. Edible plants. They were definitely edible. I picked a couple and chewed one cautiously, just in case. After a few minutes, I still felt fine, so I had a couple more.

The net was finished, so I dropped from my perch to try my luck. I caught another five of the fish, so wrapped them in leaves and stuck them in my rucksack for later. Evening fell. The Seal floated in the air and the anthem blared out. Dean. Kevin. Cho. Savannah. That was it.

Something was flying through the air towards me. On owl swooped towards me and dropped something into my lap. It was a package of some sort. I looked up to ask the owl what it was, even though I knew I wouldn't get an answer. It was gone.

Curiously, I unwrapped the package. Inside was a pair of socks. Really? Socks? They were neon pink. Honestly, they call themselves our mentors...

I took my shoes off and pulled them on. They were actually quite warm. Hiking Socks! They were to stop me from getting too many blisters. I dragged my sleeping bag around me and tied my wrist to the branch by side of me. To be sure, I tied my ankles to the branch I was resting on.

The next two days were pretty much the same. Get up. Catch Fish. Cook. Smother the smoke and hide until Sedge and his ally had gone. I could tell that Fred was getting bored. Personally, I didn't want to be killed, so I stayed close to my base camp.

Only one person died on the second day. I happened to enter a clearing, just as Sedge entered, carrying Megan over his shoulder. She was unconscious. I hid behind a tree as he dumped her on the ground. There was a pit filled with dry bracken.

"Mist, give us a hand!" Another boy swaggered in. They laid her face up over the pit and tied her hands and feet to nearby logs. I suddenly realised what they were about to do. I pulled out my wand. Too late. They had set fire to the bracken underneath her. She awoke a few seconds later and began to scream. The flames were eating away at her flesh, licking at her clothes, engulfing her.

"What kind of sick person would do that?" I wondered aloud. Mist turned and spotted me before I could dart behind the tree. I ran and leapt up into a tree. The branches were sturdy, so I swung from tree to tree like a monkey. Being Gryffindor beater has also made me unafraid of falling from heights.

I could hear Mist crashing through the undergrowth behind me. Cannon fired somewhere. Meg was gone then. The crashing stopped abruptly. I carried on for a few trees, before turning to see why he had stopped. Katniss had stepped out in front of him. She had an arrow pointing directly at his heart.

He took one look at it and fled. She let go of the string. It whistled after him, yet missed and got a tree. As he was fleeing, we saw a figure step out into his path.

Something about her presence stopped him. She took a step towards him with a sword held aloft. She brought it down with a slash. He staggered backwards, before falling to the ground. There was no cannon fire, but he didn't have much chance. I think he died the next day.

Me and Katniss ran from the girl and made our way to my little camp. I hauled myself into a tree and she scampered up next to me.

"Seeing as I've saved your backside twice now, I think we'd make a good team." She said matter of factly. I looked up at her.

"In a while. First, I want to know why you were there." She didn't leave my eyes.

"Your ear. I couldn't hear in the first games I was in. I know what it's like." I took this in and then I looked at her ears.

"But you still have both of them."

"There was an explosion." She replied shortly. Her eyes wandered, stopping to look in the pond, before they returned to me. "My little sister was killed in one. A different explosion, a bombing. She was trying to help the injured." Katniss spoke softly, though her eyes were hard.

"I know how you feel." I muttered.

"No you don't. Everyone says that, but you don't!" she cried, leaping out of the tree. "You're just like everyone else!"

"I'm not!" I protested.

"Prove it."

"Fine. My twin brother was killed by a wall exploding next to him in the battle for Hogwarts. Happy now?" Her face was a picture. Katniss looked like she had been slapped. I turned away. I hated talking about how Fred had died. He wasn't talking in my ear like he usually did. Maybe it was to give me some space.

When I looked back, Katniss was looking at the ground, bow rested in her lap. Her dark plait fell over one shoulder and her brown eyes were lowered. She glanced up and I gave her a small smile. She returned it. I took a deep breath.

"Allies?" I asked, holding out my hand.

"Allies."

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**If you're wondering about the whole fire thing, I got the idea when we were making fires on camp...yeah. Please Review!**


	16. There goes the moon

**I own nothing, thank you for the reviews, keep 'em coming! This is the last view point character, she is one of my own creations (apart from the name which is from a name generator. I was looking for inspiration...) She has been mentioned before in this story but nowhere else... Enjoy!**

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**Rhexia POV**

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There were only eight of us left. Me, Katniss, Minto, Sedge and Pip from our district. I was starting to allow myself to think about the possibility that I might get home. There was just the fact that the other district had, what's it called? Oh yeah. Magic.

I have a pretty good memory, so I had figured out the other tribute's names. George, Harry and Lily. Lily didn't really pose much of a threat, but I had seen Harry using a sword. I didn't want to cross him. Or Sedge and Minto for that matter.

I was hunting for food, when I heard the cannon fire. There was no bolt of lightning. I looked around confused, as I heard others wondering about it. A couple of minutes later, I realised why. There was a sort of gateway between two trees. I stepped through it and into a clearing.

Lily was lying on the ground awkwardly. I took a step towards her and caught sight of what was keeping her down. Someone had set a trap. A tree had fallen across her legs, pinning her down. When I searched a little closer, I spotted the twig that had triggered it.

"Sedge" I thought grimly. I set about heaving the tree off her, so that she could disappear. I tried in vain. The tree would not budge. Lily lay there, with her eyes half open. The lids fluttered and they slid open.

I hid behind the end of the tree in confusion. There had been a cannon fire, had there not? I looked at the tree again. It seemed heavy enough to make a loud crash, but a cannon fire? No way. There was a sudden rustle of leaves from where Lily's head was. I froze as Sedge made his way into the clearing with a knife.

"Well, well, well. This looks good." His face slowly started to grin. Lily struggled to get away, but he caught hold of her. "Not so fast, missy." He held up the knife to her face, and began to edge it closer and closer to her mouth.

She struggled to free herself from the tree, so he sat astride it. The knife was touching her cheek now. He stroked it gently across her cheek, lightly, so as not to mark her. She had gone chalk white. The knife was hovering above her throat. He moved it slightly, to hover above her mouth. He stroked it across her lips, grinning. Then he moved to her throat.

She started to struggle again. He used a foot to push her head back onto the ground. The knife made a thin red line across her throat. It wasn't bleeding that much. I wondered if he was going to come back later. Then he went in for the kill.

When I managed to look again, there was a deeper red line across her forehead and the corners of her mouth had been split. Blood trickled down the sides of her face. Sedge had put one hand over her mouth, to stop Lily from screaming.

I took another look at the tree. It was heavy and it did have a lot of branches. That would explain the bang and the fact that there was no lightning.

The audience in the Capitol would be wetting themselves with excitement. I was sitting right next to Sedge who was in the process of committing a murder, and he hadn't even noticed me. I silently rose to go. He was still absorbed in waiting for Lily to die.

I took a step backwards, and another until I got to the edge of the clearing. I breathed a small sigh of relief and turned to go. Then I heard the twig snap beneath my foot. I turned slowly, to see that Sedge had turned around and was looking at me with a grin that I did not like the look of. So as he got up, I fled.

I darted between trees and shrubs until I reached the tiny base camp that I had set up. His heavy footfalls had faded into the distance long ago. My breath came in short gasps. I dropped my bag and knife, before climbing the usual tree.

I was getting good at picking fruit. My photographic memory came in useful sometimes. I could tell exactly what foods were safe and which were not. Just as I was picking the last couple of berries on a branch, I heard a cannon fire. The bolt of lightning came from over where I judged Lily and Sedge to be.

I picked the last few and carried on. Seven of us left. Two wizards. Two people with brute strength. The girl on fire. My best friend. Then there was me. My chances were not very high. Then again, I was still alive, as was Pip. Maybe I did have a chance.

It was evening. I climbed a tree to see the sky better. The anthem played. Lily's face shimmered in the night sky, before switching to Minto. Minto? I hadn't heard a cannon fire for him. Unless the tree had fallen at the exact same time as the cannon had fired. That was highly unlikely, but that was the best I could come up with. I had slept in quite late though...

The anthem didn't fade out as it usually did. A girlish voice came out of nowhere.

"Tributes. There are six of you left. We invite you to the Cornucopia at midnight for a feast with your head gamemaker, the dark lord! We are expecting you…Good Luck and may the odds be never in your favour!"

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	17. Feast

**I know! Two chapters in one day! I really shouldn't be doing this, but I can't wait...Nearly the end of this story! Two or possibly three chapters after this at the moment...I'm not so good at writing really long games. It my first FanFic story so go easy on me...I own nothing and thank you once again for the reviews!**

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**Rhexia POV**

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The last echoes disappeared into the night, leaving a now silent forest to mull over what she had said. It happened every year. They called a feast, so the strongest of us could pick off any weaker opponents that showed up. It was never a good idea to go. But if Sedge did show up, maybe I could take him out…No. I shook myself firmly.

I was not stupid enough to almost let myself get killed for the second time in one day. I would stay where I was. The darkness grew and it felt comforting. I only moved at night. I slipped down from my tree and crept through the undergrowth, knife at the ready. There was a whisper nearby.

"Lumos!" I darted behind a tree, seconds before the beam of light from Harry's wand would have caught me. I held my breath as I heard him carry on. My heart was in my mouth as I shadowed him. Then I realised where he was headed. The feast. We reached the edge of the woods.

He crouched down behind a tree. I climbed the one next to him silently. There was a figure sitting at a table covered with food. His skin glowed eerily white and there were red slits for eyes. Harry extinguished his wand and crept forwards a couple of steps, just as Sedge stalked straight out into the clearing.

He greeted the man and picked up a basket of food. Just as he was turning to go, an arrow whizzed past his head. He glanced around wildly, before sprinting into the trees. Katniss entered with George. They had obviously become allies. I heard Harry suck in his breath below me.

"Traitor." He muttered. I resisted the urge to drop my knife on him. The two of them picked up baskets of food silently, ignoring the figure.

"How's your brother?" came a high, cold voice. The figure had turned to George.

"Which one?"

"Ah, let me see…your twin?" The figure was smiling coldly.

"Better, once I've done this." George had pulled out a wand. A jet light flew out of it. It rebounded and he ducked. Katniss fitted an arrow to her bow. She pointed it straight at the Dark Lord's heart. I grinned. If she killed the gamemaker, then we would probably get it easier.

George held out an arm and shook his head at her. She nodded, slung it back over her shoulder and they backed out. Sedge wasn't gone. I could see him by a tree, waiting for me, Pip or possibly Harry to show our faces. Harry straightened up. He strode into the clearing and picked up a basket. The dark lord or whatever his stupid name was gave a high, cruel laugh.

"The boy who lived, come to die?"

"Shut it, you." Harry glared at him. I watched as he made his way back. That's when Sedge struck. He ran at Harry, who heard him and turned, at the same time pulling out a sword. Sedge stopped short.

They circled each other. Harry's basket lay on the ground, forgotten. I knew what to do. Whilst they were absorbed in their fight, I darted in and pinched the basket. Neither of them noticed. I darted back into the trees and turned back, just in time to see Harry swing at Sedge who ducked and ran. Harry turned to see that his basket was gone.

"Damn it!" He swore and grabbed another one, before leaving. This left Pip. I saw him creeping round the line of trees. He suddenly ran in to grab something. I crept into the clearing. Sedge was crouched, waiting to pounce. Pip was running back, as fast as his legs would carry him. He never stood a chance.

Sedge ran at him, knocking him over. He stabbed him in the throat. That's when I lost all sense of reason. I sprinted towards them, knife out. Sedge was pinning Pip down to the ground. I hurled myself at him and drove the knife into his back. I hated myself for killing someone, but Pip was my best friend and I was not about to let Sedge get away with killing him.

Blood spurted out and I realised it was in my eyes. Sedge rolled over, trying to grab at me. I wrestled his knife away and flung it into the distance. All this time, the glowing person watched on, looking amused. Looking around the clearing from the corner of my eye, I realised that he wasn't the only glowing person around here. I stabbed Sedge once more in the chest, before getting up. There was a cannon fire and he was lifted away. I fell to my knees beside Pip.

"I will win. I promise you now." I whispered to him. His eyes flickered open and I saw for the first time what was behind them. Hatred.

"You let him get me." They spoke for him.

"I promise I will win." I could hear my voice breaking. "I killed him. How could I not?" The hatred disappeared. His eyes were disbelieving.

"Honest. He's dead." Pip gave me a last smile. He raised three fingers to his mouth and saluted me, before heaving a final breath, closing his eyes and leaving me. I barely heard the cannon. Tears splintered my vision. I blinked them away quickly, though I'm sure one of them splashed onto Pip's cheek as the lightning struck.

I stood and turned away. I was in the final four. I was also up against two wizards and the girl on fire. There was a crack like a whip suddenly. I span round, to see that the person at the table had gone. I realised that the other glowing figures were still there.

"What do you want?" They stared at me.

"You can see us?"

"Well you're standing right in front of me." They looked at each other. There were three of them. A man with long black hair, a woman with hair that kept changing colour and a boy with flaming red hair.

I glanced over my shoulder nervously. "Um, can we talk somewhere else? It's just that I really don't like being here, unprotected." They nodded. I raced back into the woods and darted between a few trees. They followed me. I looked around to check that no-one was there.

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**Down to the final four! O_o**


	18. Why are you here?

**Hello! I own nothing and thank you to krikanalo and kpickle28 for the reviews! This is a really short chapter, so lets get on with the story...**

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**Rhexia POV**

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"Okay why are you here?" The redhead stepped forwards first.

"My twin's in here. I want to help him, but I can't." My mind reeled.

"You're George's twin?"

"Yes. I'm keeping an eye on him." I just nodded and shifted my attention to the other two. The man gave a lopsided grin and looked down at me.

"Harry's my godson. I promised his parents that I would become his guardian. Shame he doesn't have my old motorbike to fly out of here on." He looked down, disgruntled.

"Ah well. At least one of them will win, hey Sirius?" the woman spoke at last. Her hair was going blue.

"Don't be so sure." I hissed venomously. How dare they suggest what I thought they were suggesting. "Girls can be just as strong as boys. I just took out the biggest competition!"

"Then you broke down crying because your mate died." The redhead gave me an appraising look.

"Fred!" the others exclaimed and glared at him.

"Actually, he's my best friend, I didn't cry and you are seriously peeing me off." Fred looked slightly taken aback. I glared at him.

"You sound like my little sister." He muttered.

"What's her name?" I wanted to know.

"Ginny. Now keep your nose out of my family's business if you like it the shape it is."

"Oh I like that. I'm just trying to be friendly, for Pete's sake!" The pair of us was almost nose to nose. I say almost because he was a head taller than me. He turned away and stalked off. Sirius and the woman looked down at me. Day was dawning quickly.

"Look, we need to go. If you're still here tomorrow, we'll be back. Come on Tonks." They turned away and left. I stood shell shocked. That was weird. The day carried on as any other day had, until lunchtime, when the first drops of rain started to fall. I darted beneath a particularly big tree.

There was a fork of lightning above. Thunder clapped and boomed, rolling in waves across the sky. The lightning looked as though it was quite low, so I ran from under the tree. It hit the exact tree that I had been standing under. It burst into flames, which spread to the next tree, then to the next and the next. I turned tail and fled. I could hear the lightning striking, smell the smoke and even taste the fear running through me.

I ran and ran, until I reached the edge of the woods. I reached it at the same time as the others. As we looked around in horror, we saw that the forest was burning around us, enclosing us in a tight circle. Katniss and George were standing together on one side. Harry emerged on the other.

I ran straight into the middle and threw my knife onto the floor. Immediately, the storm ended. The trees stopped burning. I was trapped. I looked to my left and saw Harry advancing with his sword. To my right Katniss was fitting an arrow to her bow. I dashed away and hid in the fringe of the trees.

Harry cursed and turned away. George and Katniss shrugged at each other. Harry turned back and charged towards them. George held up his wand. Katniss held up her bow and arrow, pointing them directly at his heart.

"You're a traitor!" he yelled at George, who flinched "You teamed up with her!"

"I give up!" George yelled back. He threw down his wand. "Kill me! Go ahead, kill me now!" I looked right. There was a ghostly figure standing on the Cornucopia. Fred had returned to watch his brother.

"Don't count me out." I whispered. He turned his head to match my gaze. "I can still win this you know." He shook his head. I nodded. Harry and George were still yelling at each other. Harry raised his sword to strike…then he dropped it again. He fell to his knees and put his head in his hands. I inched closer, to hear what was going on.

"I can't. I can't kill you!" he said. George arched an eyebrow.

"Really?"

"You're my best friend's brother! How could I?" Katniss stepped forwards.

"You won't last long here, if you're not prepared to kill." He looked up at her.

"Go ahead." The arrow entered his temple cleanly. He pulled it out and lay down on the floor. "I'll tell Fred you miss him." He whispered faintly. Then he closed his eyes. No cannon went off.

"Sectumsempra." George muttered. Gashes appeared, blood spurting out of Harry's body. I winced as he lay still, drowning in his own blood. Cannon fired finally.

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**Sorry! I apologise to any Harry potter fans...Please Review though!**


	19. The Victor

**Hi again! Here we are, almost at the end. Only one more chapter after this, I promise. Okay, so, the usual I own nothing and thanks for the reviews...Lets just get on with it.**

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**Rhexia POV**

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"We are down to our last three contestants!" that voice was getting on my nerves now. "Oooh, the tension!"

"Rhexia!" Katniss called, looking around for me. I stepped back into the woods. Then I shook myself. I could still take them on. I had killed Sedge, hadn't I? I marched into the middle, before picking up my knife and facing them. An arrow missed my ear by millimetres. George pointed his wand at me. Something came shooting down from above. I stared at it, and George started, glancing up too.

"Run!" Fred yelled from the Cornucopia. I didn't need telling twice. I ran into the tree as jets of green bombarded the arena. One of them was hurtling towards Katniss.

"Look out!" It was as if it was slow motion. George ran forwards and shoved Katniss out of the way, just as it reached them. His body glowed for a second, before it landed on the ground with a dull thud. The light had left his eyes. Katniss struggled to get up. I could tell that she was crying. A bolt of green was headed her way.

"Katniss! Look out!" she turned towards the sound of my voice. I saw the bolt hit her. She was shrouded in green for a second, and as the light left her eyes, I could have sworn that there was something accusatory about them. I threw my knife at her. It hit her in the chest. Her body fell across George's. They were at peace.

"George!" Fred's cry of pain echoed across the arena. I looked at him. He was crying from his perch on the Cornucopia..

"Katniss!" A young girl's voice was screaming. I looked around wildly, before spotting her. Prim. Katniss's little sister. She was crying out for her sister. She scrambled up beside Fred, who immediately flung his arm around her. I tore my gaze away and tuned back in to what the commentator was saying.

"And the winner of the 76th annual Hunger Games is…Rhexia Firewick!" A bolt of lightning came at me out of nowhere. A second later, I was standing in a room in the Capitol. People were surrounding me, congratulating me and clapping me on the back.

I was being suffocated by everyone. My stylist, Hunter, was standing back a bit, as were our mentors Haymitch and Peeta. I couldn't meet Peeta's eyes. He was swallowing hard. I was dragged away by Effie Trinket for something or other. I didn't really care. I was still alive. I had won the Hunger Games!

"Well done." Hunter murmured to me when Effie had bustled off elsewhere after giving me a peck on the cheek. "You deserved it." I gave him a wan smile. He escorted me to a hospital room and lay me down on a bed. A kindly looking nurse came over. She was holding a needle. Once the initial pain was over, I looked up at Hunter.

"Please don't leave."

"I won't." My eyes slid shut. I woke up time and again, to find stuff pouring into my arm. Hunter was as good as his word. Every time I woke up, he was there, reading or just watching me sleep. Then there came a time when there was nothing there. My arm was glowing with health.

I reached up to find the scar on my head where I had had that run in with Dean. It was gone. So were the various cut and bruises I had sustained from falling out of trees. I slid out of bed. Hunter looked up at me a grinned. I grinned back.

After that, I don't really remember much. I mean, I remember being crowned victor and all that, but everything else? Not really. The interview had been the tricky part.

I had sort-of been responsible for the death of another victor. They played the last two deaths in full. I made myself watch and act as though I was excited that I had had the chance to kill someone. The train journey back to district twelve was uncomfortable.

Every time I looked up, it seemed that Peeta's eyes were flitting away from mine. Haymitch became drunker than ever. Effie just trilled her way through it all, giving me smiles and waving at the people in various districts through the windows. I gave half-hearted smiles to them.

Peeta and Haymitch didn't appear at all. The journey back was a long one. When I finally stepped off the train, onto the soil of my home, I gave a smile. A smile that I knew would light up my face. It was for Pip. I promised him I would win. And I had.

My family were waiting for me. My mother and father were crying, holding their arms out to me. I ran into them, and found that I had tears streaming down my face. Effie was smiling and waving. Haymitch took two steps, before falling flat on his face. Peeta just gave a wave and wandered off.

My little brother Robin and my sister Melia hugged me, Robin perching on my shoulder, as if it were a branch. Later that afternoon I was stood on stage in front of the town, smiling and waving.

Only I couldn't do it properly because of two things. One: Peeta had become as drunk as Haymitch, if not more (and that's saying something.) and two: because of five figures at the end of the square, watching me with their arms folded.


	20. All is well

**This is a kind of odd ending, I didn't really know how to tie the story up...Two chapter in one day, I know...I own nothing, thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy!**

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**Rhexia POV**

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Once most of the townspeople had dispersed, I made my way over to them, shaking off Effie, insisting that I needed a little "alone time." When I reached them I just stood and said

"Well?" They all started talking at once, so I held up a hand. "One at a time. Pip, you first."

"Rhexia. You won! Congratulations!" his grin was so genuine that I went to hug him. And I succeeded. I didn't fall straight through him. We grinned at each other. He hugged me once more and sauntered off to the other side of the square, to wait for me. I could tell by the look on his face that he was over the moon.

I looked at Katniss. She just glared at me back until I got the message.

"I'll tell Peeta you're fine. I'll tell him you're happy now. Okay?" She nodded and gave me a brief smile. Prim was hanging onto her arm; they wandered off and disappeared into nothingness. Finally I turned to the twins.

"Yes?"

"Thank you." They whispered at the same time. They both had huge grins lighting up their faces. "We're happy now." George whispered. Then, they turned on the spot and disappeared. I happened to glance down as I went to wander back over to where Pip was waiting for me when I saw a bag on the floor. There was a note on it. It had pictures of what I presumed to be the twins through the ages.

_The year we won the house cup. The year we almost lost our sister. The year we passed on the marauders map. The year we knew he was back. The year we became legends. The year we brought a little light to darkness. The year 'we' became 'I'. The year 'I' went back to 'we' thanks to Rhexia. _

I looked up at where they had been, before opening the bag. Inside it was a pair of neon pink socks and a toothbrush. I rolled my eyes. Trust them. There was a faint popping sound. A girl with bright red hair appeared next to me. From a glance I knew who she was.

"You're Ginny, aren't you?" she nodded and took a menacing step towards me.

"My brother and my boyfriend are dead because of you." I took a step back, before anger took over and I leaned forwards again.

"I lost my best friend, and to make it hurt even more, I have to see their ghost's every day." She looked taken aback.

I glared at her. She glared back at me. Then suddenly, we started to smile. That smile turned into a giggle. The giggles turned into laughs, until we were doubled up in laughter, hardly able to breathe. Then we were hugging and sobbing onto each other's shoulders.

Pip had to wait quite a while to get my attention again. In the end he just wandered off. I found him again the next day. We have become even closer than we were before.

Also, I have another friend. The Weasley's became close family friends. Ginny and I spent most of our time together. Her older brother Ron became a climbing frame for Robin.

Melia took a liking to Ginny's oldest brother's wife's sister. Confusing I know. I think her name was Gabrielle Delacour or something like that.

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The next year, our district was pulled out again to supply another twelve tributes.

"The odds are never in our favour." I murmured. Ginny nodded fro her perch on the branch next to me.

"I think you're right."

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**THE END**


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